The NIA has long provided biological resources to the research community to facilitate research on the biology of aging, for which users paid a cost-sharing fee and shipping costs. Because of a recent ruling, as of January 1, 2014, the NIA can no longer charge users for the biological resources, nor any related shipping fees. The NIA is committed to continuing to provide these unique resources to the research community, but this change has significantly increased the cost to the NIA to provide the biological resources, particularly the aged rodent colonies.

As a result of the Budget recently passed by Congress, which restores a portion of the funding cuts made during the Sequester, the NIA is now positioned in fiscal 2014 to maintain its investment in the aged rodent colonies at a level sufficient to meet the demands of the broader aging research community, including grantees funded by the NIH, U. S. government agencies outside the NIH, and U.S. private foundations funding aging research. However, more stringent limitations on use of the aged rodent colonies are required to ensure the continued availability of the animals within the new fiscal environment.